Saturday, June 14, 2014

Piet Mondrian Paintings And Francis Bacon Paintings

By Darren Hartley


Marking the transition from the Hague school and Symbolism to Neo-Impressionism and Cubism at the start of the 20th century are the Piet Mondrian paintings. Composed of the most fundamental aspects of line and color, they represented the universal and dynamic pulse of life.

A unique personal style was involved in the creation of dynamic Piet Mondrian paintings. Termed neo-plasticism by Piet himself, they are not based on outside artistic influences or typical techniques. Instead, they are interpretations of deeply felt philosophical beliefs of theosophy and anthroposophy. The former is a religious mysticism which sought to help humanity achieve perfection while the latter held that the spiritual world was directly accessible through the development of the inner self.

Piet Mondrian paintings gradually began to simplify and abstract the colors and shapes of their subject matter, as Piet explored nature his own way. This process of simplification and reduction eventually became evident even in his paintings not related to nature in any way.

Francis Bacon paintings were known for their raw graphic style and distorted images of people. Francis Bacon, one of the most famous 20th century British painters, was described as that man who paints those dreadful paintings.

Included among Francis Bacon paintings is an assemblage of meat carcasses and a mutilated, almost headless man beneath an umbrella. By 1948, Francis developed the technique of painting on the wrong side of the canvas or the unprimed side. He found the technique precisely attuned to his temperament that he continued its use till the end of his life.

There are a number of Francis Bacon paintings that stood apart in exhibitions. A prime example would be Head VI, a 1949 creation. Featuring a sensuous purple cape, it was actually a variation on Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. With obsessive integrity, Francis mined the theme throughout the succeeding decade. This dependency on other artists' work was expressed in the form of reproductions. Rather than limiting Francis, it actually encouraged him to take on extravagant licensing in his art.




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